In a live televised statement Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed that an Indigenous man from northern Saskatchewan has been handed a $90 fine for selling fish after a year-long sting that saw conservation officials employ DNA tests, Predator drones, helicopters, satellites, undercover agents, heavily armed special forces officers, command posts, dogs, armoured vehicles, microchipped fish, scuba divers and a nuclear submarine.
“Tonight, I can report to the Canadian people and to the world that our conservation officials have conducted an operation that captured this Indigenous harvester and stopped his reign of terror once and for all,” Trudeau said.
“We got him.”
A spokesperson told reporters that at approximately 4:00 AM on Monday, the Prime Minister and senior officials were summoned to the situation room where they watched the operation unfold on monitors, in real time.
When a heavily armed conservation officer handed the $90 fine to the Indigenous harvester, the room reportedly erupted in cheers.
In a statement, the spokesperson said the entire operation cost $34-million and that the money and resources couldn’t possibly have been directed to investigating missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
